NCJ Number
90188
Journal
Indian Journal of Social Work Volume: 43 Issue: 4 Dated: (January 1983) Pages: 419-429
Date Published
1983
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study examines the interaction of social and environmental factors in a particular neighborhood of Bombay, India, to produce rioting.
Abstract
The neighborhood of Worli B.D.D. Chawls was selected for study. Each chawl complex has four floors, with each floor having 20 tenements (one-room dwellings). These chawls were constructed by the Bombay Development Department in the 1920's to provide cheap housing for laborers working in factories in the area. There are 121 chawls at Worli. In the past 8 years, 93 riots have occurred in the neighborhood, resulting in deaths, injuries, and property damage. The basic cause of social conflict in Worli B.D.D. Chawls is the incompatibility of the interests of the upper caste Hindus and the Neo-Buddhists. Caste Hindus occupy some 45 chawls while the Neo-Buddhists are concentrated in 29 chawls. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness among Neo-Buddhists of their exploitation and demeaning treatment by upper caste Hindus, making them status conscious and bitter toward the privilege castes. The upper caste in Worli, on the other hand, is aggrieved because of its perceived loss of socioeconomic status in the community and is hostile toward the Neo-Buddhists. Overzealous upper caste members seek the reaffirmation of traditional dominance by intimidating the traditional lower caste group. This social conflict is fueled by such factors as the role of the police, the location of chawl buildings, crime, and unemployment. The absence of riots in similar neighborhoods is due mainly to the lack of politicization and social awareness characterizing the Neo-Buddhists in Worli B.D.D. Chawls. Ten references are provided.